Latvian Uniform need help

[hunyadi]

Hello - Just recently found this on Ebay and could not pass it up. I believe that this is a inter-war period tunic. But I am not certain and I am asking help in identifying both the originality and the period. Looking at period photographs of the 1920's this seems correct - however this particular tunic lacks any of the collar litzen or tabs - looking at the material on the collar it seems that it never had any. There are marks on the shoulder boards where something was attached at one point - in a photograph that I saw it was a letter "D"?? Buttons on the tunic appear to be original and have the three star design with the wreath etc... for Latvia. So...

1) What period is the tunic from?

2) Is it infantry or artillery or other branch?

3) Why has it never had any collar tabs?

4) What unit is the badge from.

[hunyadi]

shoulder board and collar

[hunyadi]

reverse

[hunyadi]

lastly the badge

[hunyadi]

No-body??? :unsure:

[iffig]

No-body???

Your tunic must date back from the 30's. According to Knötel, green ("grün") in the colour of "Etappentruppe" ("Handbuch der Uniformkunde", p. 245) in Latvian Army.

As for the badge, I shall have a look in my files. I cannot remebr having seen it before.

[hunyadi]

Hi Iffig - thanks for the information! However can you explain the word "Etappentruppe" I am guessing that its "infantry" or???

Many thanks!!!

[iffig]

Hi Iffig - thanks for the information! However can you explain the word "Etappentruppe" I am guessing that its "infantry" or???

Many thanks!!!

Hello ! Glad that you appreciate the info I found. "Etappentruppe" is hard to translate. It applies more or less to troops having a transportation and quatermaster function.

That could mean that the insignia is for this kind of troops attached to an Artillery Depot (as I am almost sure this is not an Artillery Fighting Unit). But it is merely speculative.

Shall keep on looking for identification of this insignia.

[hunyadi]

Once again - thanks! I posted this on another forum and got only a response on the badge as being for the Galvenas Artillery Warehouse. if this is true it certainly fits with the branch of service piping. In my best guess - the branch would be the equivalent of the Service of Supply as used by the US in World War One - which included train, ordinance, maintenacne, quartermaster, etc... Still baffled by the lack of any collar tabs and wish there was enough of a ghost to see what the device on the boards was... anyone got any way to help me get parts for this to restore it? :unsure:

[iffig]

Once again - thanks! I posted this on another forum and got only a response on the badge as being for the Galvenas Artillery Warehouse. if this is true it certainly fits with the branch of service piping. In my best guess - the branch would be the equivalent of the Service of Supply as used by the US in World War One - which included train, ordinance, maintenacne, quartermaster, etc... Still baffled by the lack of any collar tabs and wish there was enough of a ghost to see what the device on the boards was... anyone got any way to help me get parts for this to restore it?

Saw a picture of your insignia in the excellent forum "Sammler.ru" - see under: this probably is the best illustrated collection of Latvian regimental badges on the net - and an other one in a book from my collection. It was published in Czech Republic, some years ago: in fact it shows two variants, one with the flaming grenade and one without (unfortunately, the pictures are so small that they are not worth reproducing). The forum I direct you to is for the most part in russian : but people in a People Republic are fluent in Russia, dont they ? Anyway, I think an artillery arsenal is quite in line with what I understand of the Latvian Army between 1918-1940. All the best.

http://sammler.ru/index.php?showtopic=11095&st=80